Serge Gnabry tests positive for Covid-19 in huge late blow for Bayern Munich ahead of their crunch Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain
- Talismanic striker Robert Lewandowski was already absent with a knee injury
- But the German giants will also be without wideman Gnabry for the European tie
- The former Arsenal player was due to play up front in Lewandowski’s absence
Serge Gnabry has tested positive for Covid-19, providing a sudden last-minute blow to Bayern Munich ahead of their Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain.
Bayern face the French club in the quarter-final first leg at the Allianz Arena tomorrow, with Gnabry also unlikely to feature in the return leg in Paris on April 13 after his diagnosis.
The club confirmed the update on their English-speaking Twitter account, which read: ‘Serge Gnabry has tested positive for Coronavirus. The FC Bayern forward is feeling fine and is now quarantining at home.’
Bayern Munich’s Serge Gnabry has tested positive for Covid-19 and is now self-isolating
Serge Gnabry has tested positive for Coronavirus. The FC Bayern forward is feeling fine and is now quarantining at home. ℹ️ pic.twitter.com/AAnzZ5HtLK
— 🏆🏆🏆FC Bayern English🏆🏆🏆 (@FCBayernEN) April 6, 2021
The test result will come as a particular frustration given talismanic striker Robert Lewandowski is already out injured, having suffered knee ligament damage on international duty with Poland.
Lewandowski, 32, is not only a proven goalscorer with an astonishing 42 goals in just 36 appearances this season, but is also the club’s true out-and-out centre-forward.
The Bavarian side eked out a 1-0 win against RB Leipzig on Saturday, with former Stoke forward Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting – who has only scored one league goal this season – starting up front.
The diagnosis means he will miss his side’s Champions League quarter-final tie against PSG
Gnabry was due to play up top in striker Robert Lewandowski’s absence, who has a knee injury
Gnabry was rested for that game, only coming on as a substitute in the 72nd minute, and has been in fine goalscoring form this campaign, with 10 in 34 matches in all competitions and the winner for Germany against Romania on March 28.
The former Arsenal player, more naturally a winger, was therefore earmarked for a striking role against PSG, but boss Hansi Flick will now have to turn to another option in his squad, perhaps Choupo-Moting or Thomas Muller.
After that crucial victory against Leipzig, the German giants are seven points clear of them in the Bundesliga with just seven games remaining.
